Savior
by nightwalker21492
Summary: The group finds the prison and Daryl runs into a ghost from his past. Rated M for later chapters. Daryl/OC. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW :)
1. Chapter 1

**Savior**

**This is my first Walking Dead fanfiction so I hope it isn't too bad. This is a Daryl Dixon/OC fic. Starts off when they find the prison. Let me know what you think and if i should continue with it! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything about the Walking Dead or Daryl Dixon or other characters except for my OC. **

* * *

Rick and Daryl walked through the cell block, their weapons leading the way. Bodies lined the cells; blood covering the walls and floors. Their eyes met as a soft rustling was heard above them. Slowly climbing the steps, they searched for the noise maker.

"Which way did it come from?" Rick asked, now back to back with Daryl as they searched the upper floor.

The sound of metal creaking reached their ears and they looked over their shoulders at each other. Daryl nodded with his head and turned back towards the direction of the sound. Their flashlights sliced through the musty air as they made their way past the cells, checking each one along the way. Coming to the last cell in the row, Daryl looked in, his crossbow aimed on the figure in the bed.

"Walker?" Rick asked from a few cells away.

Daryl lowered his crossbow and squinted his eyes. "Unlock the door."

Rick furrowed his brow and quickly walked over to him. He looked into the dark cell, Daryl's flash light still shining on the pale body beneath the sheet. As Rick unlocked the cell door with the keys he had found earlier, Daryl pushed past him, his crossbow at the ready. He walked towards the bed, his breath hitching in his throat. He lowered his crossbow and moved his flashlight, trying to see their face better.

"Is that a woman?" Rick asked from the doorway as he kept watch for walkers.

Daryl nodded slowly, anger building inside him. "Her hands are tied above her head."

"Was she bitten?" Rick walked into the cell and stood beside Daryl.

Daryl shook his head. "No." His flashlight followed a trail from her hands down to her feet. Her black hair covered most of her bloodied face, hand-shaped bruises wrapped her neck and wrists and the thin sheet covered her midsection and chest, hiding the rest of her sun depraved body. "She's naked under here." He whispered, taking the light away from her. "Someone beat her."

Rick looked down at the young woman, knowing what had happened. He instantly felt sick to his stomach and he gripped his gun tighter in his hands. "Looks like it was more than a beating."

Daryl nodded solemnly and crouched down to touch her wrist, checking for a pulse.

"She's still alive." He whispered in disbelief. He gently cupped the girls face, turning her head so she was facing them. He brushed her hair away, his eyes growing wide and stood up. "No!" Rick jumped at Daryl's sudden outburst. "Son of a bitch! No!" Daryl slammed both his fists against the wall, his breathing shallow and sharp.

Rick aimed his gun at Daryl and took a couple of steps back. "Calm down, Daryl. Who is that?" He asked, his voice shaky.

Daryl ran a hand through his hair and turned to stare at the young girl. "I know her! Her name is Elizabeth Dawson! Why the fuck are you pointing a gun at me?" He yelled, before he rushed back to the bed. He pulled out his knife and began to cut through the ropes binding her hands above her head.

"D…Daryl?"

Daryl he glanced down, meeting fear filled eyes. She stared up at him as he cut through the ropes. "We're getting you out of here, sweetheart." he whispered.

"Cafeteria ...three" She stuttered.

Understanding immediately, he nodded before he watched her pass out again. Wrapping the sheet around her, he spooned her up and rushed past Rick, making his way back to the field.

* * *

"They've been in there for too long. What if something happened?" Lori said, hugging herself as she watched the prison.

"I'm sure they're just being thorough. Making sure its safe." Carol replied as she walked over to Lori and rubbed her back.

"It's starting to get dark. What if something…"

"Stop that. We can't think like that. We need to have faith." Carol interrupted, gaining a weak smile from Lori.

"Look! They're back!" Beth yelled.

The group stood from their places around the fire and watched as Rick and Daryl made their way back to the field. "Who is Daryl carrying?" Hershel asked, looking around at the group.

Lori shook her head. "I…I don't know."

"Maggie! Maggie we need some extra clothes!" Rick called out. Reaching the fire, he pointed to the ground. "Daryl, lay her here. Maggie, we need clothes. Now."

Maggie pulled herself away from staring at the young woman wrapped in the sheet and ran to her backpack. Pulling out a pair of jeans and a tank top, she ran back over to the stranger and knelt beside her. "Is…is she even alive?" She asked, staring down at her bloody face.

"She's alive." Daryl said as he stepped away from her and readying his crossbow.

"Do you know who she is?" Carl asked.

"Elizabeth Dawson." Daryl replied quickly before he ran back towards the prison.

"Daryl, wait!" Rick swore under his breath and checked the bullets in his gun. "Glenn, T, you're coming in. Gear up! Hurry. If the people who did this to her are still in there somewhere, he's gonna find them and he's gonna kill them." He took off after Daryl. "Hurry up!" He yelled angrily over his shoulder.

Glenn and T grabbed their weapons and ran after Rick and Daryl, disappearing into the prison.

"What just happened?" Lori asked, looking around at the rest of the group.

"I'm not too sure." Hershel said, looking down at Elizabeth.

* * *

"Where the hell did you go, Daryl?" Rick whispered to himself as he led Glenn and T through the prison. Hearing shuffled footsteps and held his hand up and pressed himself against a wall. "Hold up." He whispered.

Glenn and T pushed themselves against the same wall, making sure to be ready if they had to fight. The sound of Daryl's crossbow being shot and the sound of a walker going down reached their ears and Rick looked back at Glenn and T. He nodded his head in the direction of the sound and moved forward. Walking around the corner, Rick's eyes landed on a motionless corpse, an arrow sticking out of its eye.

"This way."

"Why did he just run in here like that? Who's that Elizabeth girl?" T asked quietly.

"Not sure, but she means something for him to be so fucking stupid." Rick replied.

"How are we going to find him in this place?" Glenn asked. "It's huge."

Rick stopped walking and looked around using his flashlight. They had come to a crossroad of hallways and he studied each corridor. Stopping on a fresh pool of blood, he walked towards it, looking around the corner. He lowered his flash light and looked at Glenn and T. "We follow the bodies."

* * *

Daryl made his way through the prison, taking out any walkers that got in his way. Wiping the blood from his machete, he looked down at the headless body. "Better than bread crumbs." He whispered to himself before continuing on. Reaching a set of double doors with a faded cafeteria sign above it, he cracked his neck and readied his crossbow. "Ready or not you son of a bitch." He kicked the doors open and immediately shot an arrow, getting a man in the back of the head. "Here I come."

Two other men stood up, one aiming his gun and the other taking off into the kitchen. "Who the fuck are you?" The man with the gun yelled.

Daryl pulled out his knife and whipped it at him, catching him in the neck. "The wrong person to fuck with." He walked over to the man now laying on the ground. Stepping on his chest, he reached down, pulled the knife from his throat and slammed it into the top of his head.

Rick, Glenn and T ran around the corner just in time to see Daryl pull the knife from the man's skull and run into the next room, crossbow raised. "Shit. Come on." The three of them ran into the cafeteria and into the kitchen where Daryl had disappeared.

"No. Please don't kill me, I didn't lay a finger on that girl, please!"

"Bullshit, you didn't touch her." Daryl glared down at the man begging for his life, his finger on the trigger.

"Please, I swear! I swear I didn't touch her! Please don't kill me!" The man begged.

"Daryl." Rick aimed his gun at him, hoping he wouldn't have to use it on one of the people he cared about most. "You need to stop this. It's reckless."

"You saw what they did." He said, his aim unwavering.

Rick nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah, I did, but there's no evidence saying it was this man that did it."

"She told me."

"Daryl, she hasn't been awake."

"She woke up." He snapped, never taking his eyes off the man in front of him. "When I was cutting her loose."

"What did she…"

"Cafeteria. Three." Daryl interrupted, knowing what he was going to ask. "Got one as soon as I came in. Took the second with my knife." He pressed the crossbow against the man's forehead. "And this will make three."

"Please, I swear, I didn't touch her. All I did was tie her up. That's all I did! I swear!" The man cried.

Daryl's eyes darkened and he glanced at Rick. Rick's jaw tightened and he slowly lowered his gun, catching Daryl's eye. Daryl looked back at the man and pulled the trigger. His body fell to the ground and Daryl reached down and pulled the arrow from between his eyes. "That means you touched her."

* * *

"Daryl…"

Lori and Maggie jumped at the sound of Elizabeth's voice. Kneeling down beside her, they waited for her to open her eyes. A look of pain painted her face and her breathing picked up.

"I'll go get daddy." Maggie said as she stood up.

"No," Lori grabbed her hand and looked back down at Elizabeth. "She's just having a nightmare."

Maggie and Lori watched with sad eyes as her head thrashed from side to side, a pained expression across her face. Daryl's name slipped from her lips once more before she suddenly sat up, breathing hard. Elizabeth looked around. Her head was pounding and her vision blurred. Somewhere in the distance someone was talking. Not recognizing the voices, she attempted to stand.

Lori placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey hey hey, you need to keep laying down. You need rest."

"I saw him." She whispered, trying to keep her eyes open.

Lori looked over at Carl and Beth where they were sleeping beside Carol. "Who did you see?"

"Who are you looking for dear?" Hershel asked, walking over.

Elizabeth shook her head, trying to shake the dizziness. "Where is he? I saw him." She mumbled, looking around in a daze.

"Who?" Maggie asked.

"D…Daryl…"

Lori and Maggie looked at each other before looking back at Elizabeth. "Daryl went back into the prison." A look of hopelessness crossed her face before she passed out, Daryl's name slipping from her lips one last time.


	2. Chapter 2

**A quiet night for Daryl and Elizabeth**

* * *

**Enjoy and don't forget to review! :) Let me know what you think. **

* * *

With the rest of the group sleeping, Rick, Lori and Daryl sat around the fire that night, no one willing to bring up what had happened. Rick stared at Elizabeth as she slept on the ground beside Daryl, her head on his lap. Daryl watched the flames dance in the make-shift fire pit. Elizabeth shifted beside him and he looked down at the pained expression on her face.

"She's having a nightmare." Lori said. "She had one while you were in the prison too. Kept asking for you." She whispered, trying not to wake up the others in the group.

Daryl nodded lightly and went back to watching the fire. Picking up a stick, he poked at the coals and let out a heavy sigh. He could feel Rick's eyes on him and knew it was only a matter of time before he started asking questions. Rick glanced at Lori, who met his gaze for just a second before looking back at the fire. Rick licked his lips and sighed, looking over at the walkers clawing at the fences around them.

"Alright, I guess I'll be the one to ask," he said, looking across the fire at Daryl. "Who is she?"

Daryl looked at him for a moment before staring into the coals. "I told you who she was."

"No, you gave me a name. Who is she Daryl?"

"Someone I knew a long time ago. Drop it."

Rick glared at him. "I will not fucking drop it." He said, nearly shouting. Elizabeth shifted and Lori shushed him. "Who is she?" He repeated, now whispering again.

"What does it matter?" Daryl glared back.

"What does it matter? You killed _three_ men for her." Rick ground out through clenched teeth. "Who. Is. She?"

"A friend." He replied shortly with dark eyes.

Rick sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Look, Daryl, I know you're a private person. You like to keep your past to yourself and I get that, I do. But if she's going to stay, I need to know how you know each other."

"Man, can't we talk about this later?"

"No. You need to tell me now or she leaves tomorrow morning."

Daryl glared at Rick through his bangs and licked his lips. "She lived down the road when I was growing up. Her dads actually the one who taught me how to hunt and track. He even gave me my crossbow." He said, looking over at where his crossbow was laying. "When she was 17 she went out with Merle for a few weeks. She was just a kid then but Merle didn't let a 7 year difference in age stop him from trying to screw her." Daryl rubbed his face with his hands and let out a deep breath. "I was coming back from a hunt one night and I ran into her in the woods. She just…she acted as if something was chasing her but there was nothing around. Wouldn't let me get too close. Ran off before I could get her to talk to me more. When I got home Merle was all doped up on something. You know how he is with that shit." Daryl poked at the coals with his stick and took a deep breath before continuing. "He couldn't stop laughing. When I asked what happened he said that he was just trying to show her a good time and she got pissed and ran off."

Rick licked his lips and sighed. "He drugged her."

Daryl nodded, looking down at Elizabeth. "I tracked her down after he told me. He thought it was funny as hell." He said with disgust. "I found her a couple miles into the woods. She was too scared to move. Whatever he drugged her with had already set in. It was too dangerous to walk around the woods at night with a girl whose hallucinating, so I stayed with her. All night. Started a fire to keep her warm. She hallucinated the entire time. She didn't think I was real for the first couple of hours, but she got through it."

"Is she going to be a problem? Is she dangerous?"

Daryl's head shot up and he caught Rick's eyes across the fire. "No. Not at all." Rick held his gaze before nodding and staring into the fire.

Lori kept her eyes on Daryl throughout his entire story. Looking down at Elizabeth then back to Daryl, she felt her heart breaking for him. "You loved her." She whispered. Rick looked at Lori, having forgot she was still awake, then looked at Daryl for his reaction. "She's not just some girl you grew up with. You killed three people for her."

Daryl stopped poking the coals and stared at Lori a moment, before shoving the stick into the ground. He gently moved Elizabeth's head from his lap and stood up. "I'm done talking."

"You loved her and Merle was the one who got her…" Lori trailed off, still not taking her watery eyes off him.

"Where are you going?" Rick asked as he started to walk away from them.

"I have to take a piss. That okay with you?" He snapped back and disappeared into the dark.

* * *

Elizabeth opened her eyes slowly. It was still dark and embers burned low in the fire pit in front of her. Sitting up, she winced and held a hand to her ribs. A log was thrown onto the embers sending bits of flaming ash into the air before going out. She moved backwards, instinctively grabbing at the ax leaning against the wood pile.

"Really gonna use that on me?" Came a familiar southern accent. "Everyone else is sleeping." Daryl walked over to Elizabeth and took the ax from her, offering her his other hand. She stared at him a moment before he furrowed his brow and crouched down beside her. "You still remember who I am, right? You didn't forget or nothing?"

A small smile touched her lips and she nodded. He offered her his hand again and her smile faltered. Biting her lip, she nervously reached up and placed her hand in his. Standing up with her, he couldn't tear himself away from the pain he saw in her eyes. Finally realizing he was staring at her and still holding her hand, he cleared his throat and let go of her hand. He licked his lips and took a step back before holding his arm out towards the fire for her.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, walking back over to the fire. She followed him slowly, sitting down across from him. Daryl reached over and picked up a bowl off the ground. Standing up again, he moved to sit beside her, holding the bowl out for her to take. "Its rabbit, I hope you don't mind."

Elizabeth stared at him and licked her lips. "You…you f-find me t-tied t-to a b-bed, n-naked and b-beat and you…you a-ask me if I'm hu-hungry?" She stuttered.

Daryl looked down at the bowl in his hand, holding back all he wanted to say. **_She's afraid_**. He thought to himself. Picking at the cooked rabbit meat, he took a small piece between his index and thumb, holding it above the bowl and shaking away loose pieces of meat. "I thought it would be better than making you talk about it." He said and ate the small amount of food between his fingers. He held out the bowl again, looking her in the eye. "I'm not gonna push you."

She held his gaze, feeling like she was in a trance. Reaching out, she gently took the bowl from him and he turned to look at the fire, poking it with a stick, sending embers into the air again. They sat there in silence, listening to the cracking of the wood and the distant groans of walkers before he spoke again.

"You should eat." he said, not looking away from the fire.

Elizabeth watched him, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. He sat with his forearms resting on his knees, the light from the fire dancing with the shadows on his wry face. She could tell he was hiding his emotions; She could see the anger; The sorrow; the confusion. And something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She reached out slowly, rubbing his forearm with a small hand. He looked over at her with questioning eyes.

"Thank you."

Daryl stared at her before nodded slightly and turning back to the fire. She leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt him crane his neck to see her before his hand reached up, brushing some hair out of her face. He returned to the fire, poking it with his stick. Taking a few bites of the rabbit, she held the bowl out for him but he shook his head.

"You need to eat."

"And you d-don't?"

Sighing lightly, he took a small amount between his fingers again and they ate in silence until the bowl was empty. He felt her shiver beside him as the wind blew and the temperature continued to drop. She lifted her head as he pulled away a little. Pulling off his jacket, he draped it around her small form. Seeing the appreciation in her eyes, he gave her a quick smile and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"You should get some more sleep. We're moving into a cell block tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

**I know this chapter is a little short, but let me know what you guys think about it. Hoping to update soon! ENJOY!**

* * *

As the group settled into their cell block, Daryl sat in Elizabeth's cell with her. She hadn't spoken since she woke up and was currently staring out the small window above her cot. Daryl sat on the cot, his crossbow hanging from his back and his hands in his lap. Unsure of what to say, he watched her in silence, still trying to convince himself that his mind wasn't playing tricks with him. She was real. After everything the world had gone through; After all the tragedy and the pain, she had made it through everything. Regardless of what happened to her, she was alive. And she was here.

Someone cleared their throat and Daryl looked towards the door. Rick motioned for Daryl to follow him and he stood up. Walking out of the cell, Rick and Daryl moved over to the railing. Rick looked into the cell at Elizabeth, who was still staring out the window, her arms wrapped around herself.

"How is she?" He asked, keeping his eyes on her.

"Quiet. She woke up last night. Didn't say much." Daryl said watching her for a moment before turning to lean on the railing and staring down at the ground level of the cell block. "Not that I bugged her about it."

Rick looked over at him before leaning on the railing as well. "It's good that you didn't. She needs time."

"I know that."

Rick studied Daryl's expression. It was cold and filled with anger. Sighing, he licked his lips. "Listen, Daryl, what Lori said last night…"

"Was bullshit." Daryl interrupted.

"No," Rick shook his head. "It wasn't. You wouldn't have killed those men if you didn't love her, but whatever happened between you guys in the past, its in the past. She needs time to heal."

Daryl glared at Rick. "You really think I would make a move on her right now? You think I'm that much of a scumbag?"

"Daryl, I didn't mean…"

"No. No, I get it. I'm the black sheep of the group. I can see why you'd be worried, _Rick_." He spat, standing up straight and pushing Rick back a bit. "I'm not as much of a scumbag as my brother." He said and stormed off.

Rick sighed and looked into Elizabeth's cell, taken back by the blank stare he received back as Elizabeth now stood in the doorway. He felt a shiver up his spine, her eyes completely empty and void of emotion. He licked his lips and took a step towards her but stopped when she took a step back, a look of defense finally appearing on her face.

"I don't want to hurt you, Elizabeth. My name is Rick. I'm kind of the leader for this group." He said carefully. "I was with Daryl yesterday when he found you in that other cell block." Elizabeth continued to watch him and he looked around to see if anyone was around before turning back to her. "I don't know if you know this or not, but you mean a lot to Daryl. And Daryl is part of this group. And the people in this group, well, we protect each other. We're a family. Granted, not a normal family, but Daryl cares a great deal for you, so that makes you family. You can take your time getting to know us. Just know that you're safe here. Alright?" After a moment, Elizabeth nodded, still on the defense and Rick nodded. "Alright, then."

* * *

Elizabeth walked along the fenced in catwalks where someone would take watch every now and then, her fingers dragging along the chain link. She watched Carl and Beth help Hershel prepare a space for crops. Rick walked along the fences, checking for anything that was damaged, and T, Glenn and Maggie stood off in the distance as they burned bodies left over in the prison. Lori and Carol, she assumed, were still inside the cell block.

"Hey." Elizabeth jumped, and glared at Daryl. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He smiled sheepishly. "What are you doing up here?" Her glare softened a bit and she turned back to looking at the others, shrugging her shoulders in response. Daryl sighed and hooked his fingers through the chain link.

"CDC."

Daryl looked over at her, confused. "What?"

Elizabeth turned to him, one hand still clutching the fence. "I n-need to go to the C-CDC."

Daryl licked his lips and shook his head. "It's gone."

"What?"

"We were there a few months ago. There was a man there trying to find a cure but he gave up. It blew up. There's nothing left." Daryl said, watching a look of hopelessness cross her face.

Elizabeth shook her head, stepping backwards away from Daryl. "No. No, it c-can't be g-gone."

"There's nothing left, Lizzi." Daryl said softly, using her nickname from childhood.

She continued to shake her head in shock. "IT CAN'T BE GONE!" She yelled, her body shaking.

"Well it is, now calm down. Why is it so important?" Daryl asked, but she wasn't listening.

"I DID NOT KEEP MYSELF ALIVE FOR IT TO BE GONE!" She yelled, her voice suddenly strong and tears streaming down her face. Daryl looked down into the yard. The group had stopped their activities and now gathered below the catwalk. Daryl licked his lips and took a step towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked away from him. "NO! DON'T TELL ME IT'S GONE! DON'T FUCKING LIE TO ME!"

Daryl's heart broke as he watched her cry and he stepped towards her again. She tried to move away again, but he wrapped his arms around her and she began hitting his chest, trying to pull away. Daryl placed his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look at him. "Its gone, Elizabeth." He said firmly, looking her in the eyes. "There's nothing left."

Her breathing shaky and shallow, she collapsed in tears against him and he lowered them to the floor, hugging her tightly. Rick ran up the steps to the catwalk they were on and appeared a moment later behind Elizabeth. "What the hell is going on?"

Daryl looked up at Rick and shook his head as Elizabeth cried into his chest. "I have no idea."

* * *

Daryl walked out of his cell and leaned on the railing. Elizabeth had finally stopped crying and was now passed out in his bed. Rick walked over to him, waiting for an explanation.

"I don't know what happened." He finally said and he could feel Rick's eyes on him. "I found her wandering around up there and asked what she was doing. She didn't say anything." He said, trying to figure out why she fell apart like she did. "Then out of no where she said something about the CDC."

"What?" Rick furrowed his brow. "What did she say about it?"

"Said she needed to go there. I told her it was gone and…" he trailed off.

"And what?" Rick pushed.

"And then it was like the world ended." Daryl looked at Rick. "She started crying. Yelling. Said that she didn't keep herself alive for this long for it to be gone." He said, her words echoing in his head.

"What does that mean? Why was it so important that she go there?" Rick asked, looking over his shoulder towards the cell.

Daryl shook his head. "She wouldn't tell me." He ran his hands over his face. "She had no idea it was gone. Whatever the reason, it kept her from killing herself. Even when those mother fuckers were doing what they did, it was enough to keep her going. She had to get to the CDC."

Rick continued to watch Elizabeth sleep, tears still staining her cheeks. "Why was it so important, Elizabeth?" He whispered.

Daryl stared out the windows from the top floor of the cell block, a dark look in his eyes as a realization hit him. He felt Rick look at him as he spoke, not having to see his face to know that he had the same realization.

"Maybe she knows something we don't."


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm not gonna fucking interrogate her." Daryl snapped.

Rick leaned on the back of a chair and hung his head. "I'm not asking you to interrogate her. I'm asking that you just_ talk_ to her. As a friend."

"And then come run and tell you what she tells me?" Daryl asked, standing up from his seat. "What she tells me, stays between me and her. If she wants to tell you, that's up to her." He nearly shouted before climbing the steps to the second floor of cell block C and disappearing into his cell.

Lori glared at Rick and he sighed. "What now?" He asked, looking over at her.

"Nothing. I didn't say a thing."

"You think it's wrong that he tries to find out what she knows?" He asked. "We have no idea who she is."

"I just don't think this is the time." Lori said, rubbing her stomach as the baby kicked.

"And when is the time, Lori? When she has another freak out and hurts someone?" He said in a harsh whisper.

Lori huffed. "She isn't dangerous. You're treating her like some….some criminal, when she's the victim."

"The more we know about her, the safer the group. Daryl's the only one she'll talk to. What am I supposed to do?" He argued. "I am doing what needs to be done."

Lori glared at him. "What you're doing is pushing a damaged girl who needs time to heal." She ground out through clenched teeth before storming out of the cell block.

* * *

Daryl leaned against the frame of the cell and watched Elizabeth. She lay on her side, her hair covering the bruises on her neck. A frown sat on her lips and he tilted his head, noticing her breathing was uneven. He leaned back and looked out the cell to see that they were alone. Looking back at her, he folded his arms over his chest.

"You can stop pretending to be asleep. It's only me." Daryl whispered.

Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open and she looked at him, not moving from the bed. "They don't trust me, do they?"

"just worried."

"That I'm going to hurt them?" Elizabeth sat up, hanging her legs over the edge of the bed.

Daryl watched her from the doorway in silence before he replied slowly. "To them you're new. And that freak out didn't help."

Elizabeth looked down, her hair hiding her face. "Sorry about that."

Daryl licked his lips and moved to sit next to her. "Wanna tell me what that was about?" He rested his forearms on his knees and leaned forward, his hands clasped. "I need to know why the CDC was so important."

"It doesn't matter anymore." She whispered.

"You said its what you've stayed alive for." He looked over at her. "I'd say that it matters."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Well tough shit." Daryl straightened his back when Elizabeth looked at him. "As much as I don't want to say this to you, I'm putting my ass on the line for you, Lizzi. I've been through hell and back with these people. I need to know that by having you here, I'm not putting them in danger."

Elizabeth stared him in the eyes. "I have no intentions of hurting anyone."

"Then I need to know why it was so important."

* * *

Daryl walked over to Rick as the rest of the group ate their supper, and pulled him aside. "We need to go to the infirmary. See if there's a microscope or some shit."

Rick gave Daryl a look. "Why?"

Daryl looked around to make sure no one was listening. "We need to look at her blood. Compare it with ours." He said, holding up a small glass with blood in it.

"What? Why? Who's blood is that?" Rick and Daryl began walking towards the doors to the cell block. "Glenn, stay on guard. Daryl and I are going to check out more of this place."

Glenn nodded as he unlocked the doors and locked them again as Daryl and Rick walked out. Daryl shook his head as they continued towards the infirmary. "She told me why she needed to get to the CDC. But before I tell you, I want to make sure she's telling the truth."

* * *

Daryl stood watch as Rick looked at a sample of his own blood under the microscope; A black virus attacked the blood cells. Taking the sample away from the scope, he replaced it with one he had made with the blood Elizabeth had given Daryl. Looking into the microscope, his heart skipped a beat and the breath hitched in his throat. He stepped away from the table, realizing what this meant. What it could have meant. Rick leaned against the wall, his legs weak and slid to the floor.

Daryl rushed over and crouched down beside him. "What is? Are you okay?" Rick continued to stare at the microscope on the table, tears in his eyes, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "Rick?" Daryl shook his shoulder._ "Rick!"_

* * *

**EARLIER**

Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Well tough shit." Daryl straightened his back when Elizabeth looked at him. "As much as I don't want to say this to you, I'm putting my ass on the line for you, Lizzi. I've been through hell and back with these people. I need to know that by having you here, I'm not putting them in danger."

Elizabeth stared him in the eyes. "I have no intentions of hurting anyone."

"Then I need to know why it was so important."

Elizabeth's eyes were watery, her hands gripping the edge of the bed. She opened her mouth to say something as tears began streaming down her cheeks. "I…I could have stopped it."

"Stopped what?"

"The outbreak."

Daryl shook his head. "No one could have stopped this, Lizzi."

Elizabeth stood, pulling her fingers through her hair. "I could have! All I needed to do was go to the CDC and I couldn't even do that!" She cried as she began to pace.

"How?" Daryl snapped. "How could you, out of all the fuckers working at the CDC, stop what happened?" Daryl stood up angrily. "They gave up because there's nothing that could have been done!" He yelled.

"You don't understand!" Elizabeth yelled, pushing Daryl back.

"Then make me understand, damn it!" Daryl stared her down. "You think you could have stopped all this? Then fucking tell me how!"

Elizabeth stared at him in awe, her hands trembling as she reached out for him. "I…I'm not infected." She whispered.

Daryl furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about? We're all infected. "

Elizabeth shook her head and rushed forward, placing a hand on either side of his face. "No," she licked her lips. "No, I'm not. I'm not infected. There's….there's something different. In my blood." She shook her head again, her eyes searching his. "I'm. Not. Infected."

* * *

_"RICK!"_

Rick heard Daryl calling him and tried to snap himself out of shock. He pointed weakly to the microscope before running his hands over his face. "She…She's not infected." he whispered.

"That's what she told me but how is that possible? Are you sure?" Daryl asked, standing up and looking into the microscope.

Rick stared into nothingness as shock washed over him. "She could have a been a cure."

* * *

**HEY! Hope you guys liked this chapter. Let me know what you think!**


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